Decorative plates, and other types of dinnerware, have been utilized for many years, either in terms of providing a suitable aesthetic dish on which food is served, or through a plate that is solely utilized for display purposes. Whether such articles were made from china, stone wear, acrylic, paperboard, or any other like material, the primary manner of providing such aesthetic articles was through a permanent appliqué, painted pattern, or other like manner. As such, a user would have been limited to the pattern or other display provided by the manufacturer, or perhaps applied by the dinnerware purchaser prior to actual use. Basically, then, for many years, a user would be limited to purchased patterns without any viable manner of modifying such decorative displays without permanently effecting the look thereof.
These limited alternatives thus required the user to either rely upon the purchased or self-produced decorative plates, etc., for utilization or forced such a user to purchase different plate materials with differing decorative displays in order to accord aesthetic results that would correlate to certain events. In other words, in order to, for instance, provide a set of plates, bowls, etc., that were related to a birthday celebration, a user would purchase pre-decorated plates or permanently self-decorate such dinnerware for that specific event. Likewise, the same user would most likely choose to purchase plates, etc., for different holiday events as well, ranging from appropriate winter holiday motifs (such as for Christmas, New Year's, Hanukkah, and the like) to Thanksgiving and/or fall decorative dinnerware articles, to Independence Day displays. Such varied events would involve different decorative displays; if the user chose to have such different display results with his or her serving plates, and other articles, again, the past availability of decorative alternatives was basically the purchase of such differently decorated materials and articles. As it is, typically, for instance, a parent will purchase cake plates and bowls with certain designs integrated therein for a child's birthday party based on the motif in which such a child is interested (for example, a 4-year boy might want a train display for his decorations; a 4-year old girl may be interested in a “princess” pattern). Each year, as the child grows older, different designs may be necessary as their tastes change, thereby necessitating the purchase of new, differently decorated plates, etc., for such purposes. As well, if the plates and other articles are disposable, such purchases may add to the litter within landfills over time and require continual manufacturing of paperboard products. Although some consumers may enjoy such purchases, others may not wish to purchase new plates, etc., every year and for every different event.
Furthermore, restaurants and other eating establishments may desire to have different decorative plates, platters, bowls, etc., for such yearly events as well, not to mention the ability to provide customized dinnerware for certain patrons on occasion. In order to do so, in the past, it was typically required that different wares be purchased for such purposes, much like described above.
Certain interchangeable decorations have been and continue to be provided to certain degrees in order to overcome the necessity for separate purchases for different events. Unfortunately, however, such alternative decorative plate (and/or another serving piece) display articles and methods are deficient to the level that large-scale replacement of the typical continual purchase standard has not proven viable. For instance, as alluded to above, there are specific “plain” plates and bowls, at least, that have long been offered for initial decoration and then lamination of a proper cover thereafter to allow a user the capability of decorating such articles themselves. These, however, are permanent in terms of the end decorative result; thus, the user would still need to purchase more such wares for decorative purposes if they chose to have sufficient varieties for different events. Additionally, there have been provided certain plates with removable covers on their underside into which photos or other decorations may be placed with a window built into the middle portion of the upper plate (the “well” of the plate that is flat in relation to the concentric inclined portions surrounding such a portion, for instance) for viewing purposes. Such a decoration alternative does provide a certain degree of versatility to a user in terms of the types of photos/displays that may be introduced within the viewing window in relation to a event. However, such a display alternative is very limited in terms of the amount of decorative display that can be viewed (i.e., limited to the “well” portion of the plate), thus limiting the usefulness thereof. Also, the back cover for such display plates is limited in terms of coverage to the window portion of the upper plate and is not a viable plate or like article itself. Furthermore, there are also full display articles (not serving plates) that include an entire viewing area in an upper plate, but in so doing such a plate provides a bubble portion within such a window that thwarts any utilization as an actual plate itself. As well, the bottom cover thereof is not a plate itself and does not provide a bubble component to match that of the upper plate (i.e., the two components, the “plate” and the cover do no nest together).
In essence, the prior art in the decorative dinnerware industry is rather limited in scope to individual viewing window results, sole display alternatives, and/or the need for purchasing different designs for different events and time frames. There thus exists a noticeable lack of true versatility within the decorative dinnerware art to provide different decorative displays for the entirety of a serving plate on demand and of a temporary, but reliable nature. The provision of a temporary and replaceable design that covers as much as the entirety of a plate that is not only easily viewed and enjoyed aesthetically, but does not interfere or come in contact with any foodstuffs present on such a serving article, and, additionally, allows the user to safely clean the plates involved within a dishwasher or like appliance, has not been accorded within the decorative plate industry to date.